Porsche 911 History

It's been happening for more than 40 years, yet we marvel every time. Just when we think the 911 can't get any better, Porsche manages to make it faster, safer, more nimble, more user-friendly, and yes, more exciting. And all within a design concept that skeptics had written off decades ago.

Happily, the Porsche 911 looks set to roll on for a good many more years. As ever, Porsche has the will and ways to keep it fresh and relevant, as indeed it must. The 911 not only remains a key part of Porsche's business, it's the heart and soul of the company, perhaps now more than ever.

Future 911s will likely have the same fresh style of the past 40 years.

The Porsche 911 has evolved in ways that were unimaginable back in the 1960s, so it's hard to predict what it could be like in 10 or 20 years. But if past is prologue here -- and we don't doubt that it is -- tomorrow's 911s should be spectacular in ways we can't imagine today.

For now, we can look forward to a new 997-based version of the Turbo's "evil twin," the amazing rear-drive GT2. Based on spy photos of virtually undisguised late-stage prototypes testing in early 2007, the new model will resemble a cross between a Turbo and the new GT3.

But with horsepower being rumored at 525 up to 580, this could well be the new king of the supercars. Sources expect the GT2 to be unveiled at the fall 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show as a 2008 model. U.S. deliveries should begin by mid-2008.

Forty years is a pretty long time, and the world has changed enormously since the Porsche 911 came on the scene. But how satisfying that this car not only survives but seems to grow younger with each passing year? If only we all were so lucky.

Check out the complete story of Porsche cars, including these fabulous models: